Nonstop flight route between Blountville, Tennessee (Tri-Cities area), United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI), Blountville, Tennessee (Tri-Cities area), United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,763 miles (or 7,665 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Tri-Cities Regional Airport and Eareckson Air Station, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Tri-Cities Regional Airport and Eareckson Air Station. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI):

• In January 2008 a quick service restaurant, Tailwind Express, was added in the post-security area of the airport along with the Tailwind Restaurant and Lounge in the pre-security area.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 202,730 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 217,783 in 2009 and 202,114 in 2010.
• In addition to being known as "Tri-Cities Regional Airport", another name for TRI is "Tri-Cities Regional Airport, TN/VA".
• In the mid-1930s Johnson City’s airfield and Kingsport’s airstrip were deemed not practical for expansion.
• Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) is Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) NE of TRI.
• The furthest airport from Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,434 miles (18,402 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
• The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.